USA WRESTLING NAMES 2000 OLYMPIC FREESTYLE COACH FINALISTS: DAN GABLE, MARK MANNING, JOE SEAY, JOHN SMITH & GREG STROBEL 
 The Board of Directors of USA Wrestling has approved the finalist candidates for the position of head coach for the 2000 U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team, during its Board of Directors meetings in Dallas, Texas, March 13. 
 The finalist candidates for the position are Dan Gable of Iowa City, Iowa, Mark Manning of Cedar Falls, Iowa, Joe Seay of Perry, Okla., John Smith of Stillwater, Okla. and Greg Strobel of Bethlehem, Pa. The candidates were selected by the USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach Selection Committee, and were approved by the Board of Directors. 
 The coach who is selected to serve as the 2000 Olympic team coach will also serve as the head coach for the 1999 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which will compete in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 8-11 
 Gable served as head coach of the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling teams. The 1980 team was unable to participate in the Moscow Olympics due to the U.S. boycott of the Games. The 1984 U.S. Olympic team dominated the Games, winning seven gold medals and two silver medals. Gable also served as the head coach of  five U.S. World teams (1977, 1978, 1979, 1983 and 1994). Gable coached 10 U.S. World Cup teams, as well as the 1986 U.S. Goodwill Games team. 
 He is considered the most successful college coach of all time, setting numerous career records as the head coach for the Univ. of Iowa. His Iowa teams won 15 NCAA team titles during his 21-year career, including an amazing steak of nine in a row from 1978-86. He retired from college coaching after winning the 1997 NCAA team title, with a record number of team points. In addition, Gable was a 1972 Olympic gold medalist and 1971 World champion as an athlete, as well as a two-time NCAA champion for Iowa State Univ. Gable originally hails from Waterloo, Iowa. 
 Manning served as the assistant coach for the 1997 U.S. World team, which placed sixth in the World Championships in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. He was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team coaching staff. He worked as the National Developmental Coach for USA Wrestling in 1993, working with the top age-group athletes in the nation. He coached at two U.S. Olympic Festivals, and coached the 1993 and 1995 Junior World teams and the 1992 Cadet World team. 
 He is currently the head coach at the Univ. of Northern Iowa, a traditional Div. I wrestling power. He served as an assistant coach at the Univ. of Oklahoma and at the Univ. of North Carolina. Manning was a nationally ranked freestyle wrestler, and was a Div. II national champion at the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha. He originally hails from South Dakota. 
 Seay served as head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic freestyle team, which won five medals, including three champions. He also served as coach of the 1993 and 1995 U.S. World teams, both which won the World team titles. These were the only two U.S. teams to ever win the team title at the Freestyle World Championships. Seay was head coach of the 1990 U.S. Goodwill Games team, which claimed the team title by defeating the Soviet Union in the team finals. Seay also served as the head coach of the 1985 U.S. World team, 1995 Pan American Games team and the 1986 and 1991 World Cup teams. 
 Seay was also a successful college coach, winning two NCAA Div. I team titles for Oklahoma State Univ. and seven NCAA Div. II team titles at Cal-State Bakersfield. He was a nationally ranked wrestler in both freestyle and Greco-Roman as a competitor. Seay competed at Kansas State Univ., and is originally from Wellington, Kansas. 
 Smith served as the head coach of the 1998 U.S. Freestyle World team, which placed third in the World Championships held in Tehran, Iran. He was also the head coach of the 1998 U.S. Goodwill Games team, which captured the team title and featured three individual gold medalists. He was a co-coach of the 1997 U.S. World Cup team that won the team title and made history by winning every bout in the gold-medal match against Russia. 
 He is currently the head coach at Oklahoma State Univ., one of the most successful Div. I wrestling programs in history. Smith led the Cowboys to the 1994 NCAA team title and second place at the 1998 NCAA Championships. As an athlete, Smith was considered by many the best freestyle wrestler in U.S. history. He claimed gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games, and won four World gold medals (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991). His six straight World-level titles is unprecidented. He also won titles at the Pan American Games, Goodwill Games and World Cup. Smith was a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State, and originally hails from Del City, Okla. 
 Strobel served as the assistant coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, which claimed five medals, including three individual champions. He was the head coach of the 1994 U.S. Goodwill Games team, which featured two individual gold medalists. He was a co-coach of the 1997 U.S. World Cup team that won the team title and made history by winning every bout in the gold-medal match against Russia. He was assistant coach of the 1995 U.S. World team, which claimed the World team title and featured four champions. Strobel also served as head coach for the 1997 U.S. Junior World team. 
 He is currently the head coach at Lehigh Univ., one of the traditional Eastern wrestling powers. He worked as the head coach of the national champion Team Foxcatcher club for a number of years. He served nine years as National Teams Director for USA Wrestling. Strobel was also an assistant coach at Oregon State Univ. He was a talented freestyle wrestler, and won two NCAA titles for Oregon State. Strobel originally hails from Scapoose, Ore. 
 Each of the candidates will be interviewed by the Freestyle Coach Selection Committee in late March, and the committee will make its recommendations for the positions of head coach and assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic team. These selections must then be approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee, which is expected in April. 
 USA Wrestling's final selections must then be formally approved by the U.S. Olympic Committee's International Games Preparation Committee.